


Fond Farewells and Final Revelations

by HazelGatoya



Series: Stories for Shigure Comissions [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Azura is no longer pregnant, Big bro Shigure, But this is Odin describing her, Corrin being slightly less of a dork, F/M, Happy Lilith is best Lilith, Hidden Truths DLC, I may have died slightly watching it again, Laslow WHAT DID YOU DO, Lissa is overpraised, MORE STORIES, Odin being dramatic, Selena being Selena, Thank Naga, The twins are finally here, what is this madness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 00:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14437836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelGatoya/pseuds/HazelGatoya
Summary: Commissioned by the might Baneofloslorien on Deviantart. :DShigure notices that Lilith can switch between human and dragon form now, and Corrin explains why, and he knows because Selena and Odin explained it to him a few weeks back, revealing some rather shocking truths.





	Fond Farewells and Final Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> "You will never know the truth about either."
> 
> SCREW YOU RANDOM NARRATOR OF HIDDEN TRUTHS. THIS IS A THING. Lilith deserves happiness, guys, and Corrin deserves to know the truth. 
> 
> I love comments, so be sure to leave some down below! Hope you enjoy! :D

     "Ah, there it is." Lilith peered under the desk, a flash of white light alone presaging the transition from a tiny dragon to a young woman in a modest navy blue maid's outfit. She reached underneath, easily pulling out the paper snowflake, and turned to Shigure with laughter in her pale golden eyes. "You're getting better at hiding these, young one."  
  
     "You're getting better at finding them, I need to be better at hiding them," Shigure replied, easily crossing the tower floor to crouch down next to her. He then took of hold of her braided hair, where the navy blue gave way to red, and studied it in fascination. Lilith chuckled softly at his boyish delight, a nostalgic gleam in her eyes. "You can reach just about everything now, and you couldn't before. How come you never turned human when I was younger?" Lilith stilled a bit, averting her gaze. Shigure frowned slightly. "You always revert to dragon form whenever somebody that isn't from the old army is watching, too," he pressed.  
  
     "Well... there's an explanation," she replied slowly. "I don't know if it would be all right for me to be the one to tell you, though. It involves quite a few people."  
  
     Shigure's frown deepened at that, but before he could press further, he heard his father clear his throat. "I don't mind, and I doubt that the others would mind either," Corrin remarked from his position of leaning on the wall near the door. Shigure hadn't even heard him come in, something that was rare, but then, his father  _was_ generally quieter when he was tired.   
  
     Him being tired was a given what with two new squishy babies in the palace and a gala to celebrate their birth coming up. The twins had been a big surprise, Father had almost blurted out a comment about this being why Mother had gotten so big, and Shigure, sensing the potential catastrophe, had hurriedly asked about them having different hair colors. Kana had inherited their father's white hair- was the spitting image of him, really, while Kamui had the pale blue hair that Mother and Shigure shared. Azura had apparently sensed Corrin's near-miss as well, though, so he had still gotten glared at.   
  
     Shigure had been spending a lot of time in this tower with Lilith the past couple weeks while his parents were both running about, but at least Mother wasn't  _that_ grumpy all of the time anymore, and the twins were cute- if extremely loud and still rather squishy-looking. Mother assured him that he'd been that squishy once and that Kana and Kamui would grow out of it, and Father had confirmed it, but Shigure wasn't entirely certain. "Then I don't mind it being explained." Lilith dipped his head to him. "But I think you'd better be the one to do it. You've always been better at those sorts of things than I am."  
  
     "Of course." Corrin uncrossed his arms, pushing himself off of the wall and coming over to sit cross-legged next to Shigure. "Got a brand-new story for you, kiddo."  
  
     "Really?" Shigure asked excitedly, leaning away from Lilith and towards his father. Lilith gave a small smile, rising to put the last snowflake back in its proper place upon the collage which had been disassembled and then reassembled during their scavenger hunt.   
  
     "Really really. I didn't know it myself until about a week before the twins' birth." Corrin sighed, setting his hands down on the ground behind him and leaning back on them. "Alright, so you're going to be hearing a lot about Odin, Selena and Laslow, here. They finally opened their mouths about where they came from about three weeks ago in this very tower."   
  
     Shigure's eyes grew round as saucers, and his father grinned. "Tell me the story," the boy demanded, and Corrin gave a slight nod before starting in. "So on that day, I left you with your mother and the twins and headed up to the tower where Odin and Selena had asked to meet me..."  
  
\---------------------------  
  
     "Ah, my liege Corrin!" Odin bowed at the waist, a hand to his chest and his other arm extended in an exaggerated flourish. "Thank you for taking the time out of your no doubt many duties to speak with us."  
  
     "No no, thank you two for visiting," Corrin chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "It's been awhile... though I don't think long enough for your hair to change so... drastically."  
  
     "Hair dye is a thing, Commander," Selena replied dryly from where she was standing near where Lilith was hovering, though she  _did_ raise a hand to toy with a strand of her now chocolate-brown hair that brushed against her cheek. "But I'll admit that isn't what changed our hair color."  
  
     "The vat that could dye your shining tresses crimson would be an impressive sight indeed, my love," Odin remarked, straightening and running a hand through his spiky hair that was now black.   
  
     The blue gem resting on his forehead actually looked better with the new hair color, Corrin noted while smiling at the eyeroll that Selena gave her husband's words. "So this is your natural hair color, then," he concluded from all the offhand comments, and both of them nodded. "I have to admit, it looks good even if it's a bit of a shock."  
  
     Odin and Selena exchanged a glance. "Ah, we took the liberty of obtaining Lilith's permission to bring a table as well as a few chairs into the room." Odin gestured toward the center where there was a small table set up with four chairs.   
  
     "We've got quite a bit to talk about," Selena added.   
  
     "Please sit, everyone," Lilith chimed in from where she was floating in the air, the white scales on her small face scrunched up into a smile.  
  
     Corrin took the invitation with a slight frown, watching Odin and Selena take their seats on the other side. "The kid's due in about a week, right?" Selena asked, still twirling a strand of her hair in her fingers.  
  
     "Yes, I've been hearing all sorts of things about how lucky spring babies are from Elise and Sakura," Corrin chuckled, his frown giving way quickly at the mention of his child that would be coming soon. "Shigure has begun to ask if the baby's really coming at this point, and he's usually so patient... it's a clear sign that he's excited to be a big brother. Or at least get his mother back without her being cranky all of the time. I'm assuming you two have heard about the tentative banquet which will be held here sometime after their birth?"  
  
     "Yes, and it will be a celebration for the histories themselves to sing about, I'm certain," Odin replied with a bright smile of his own.  
  
     "That's part of why we're here." Selena was also smiling, though it wasn't as bright as Odin's. "You see, we didn't want to bring the mood down at all or waste your time at the party itself, but there are some things you deserve to know." Corrin tilted his head, inviting her to go on with a small wave of his hand. "Odin, Laslow, and I will be leaving Touma after attending that party."  
  
     "Is that so?" Corrin's smile faded completely, and he crossed his arms, resting them on the table. "Well... I suppose I can't say I'm surprised. You three have said multiple times that you aren't from Nohr." He gave a slightly softer smile, memories of the war and the turbulent but hopeful times after coming back to him. "You've been great allies, outstanding retainers to my siblings, and even better friend to us all. Nohr likely won't be the same without you there, but if that's what you wish to do, I have no right to try and stop you."  
  
     Odin dipped his head to him. "We appreciate your understanding, my liege. The thought of leaving saddens us as well, but we haven't been to our homeland in over nine years now..."  
  
     "We miss our friends and family." Selena shrugged a bit uncomfortably.  
  
     "Of course, of course. Anyone would after being away from home for so long." He was honestly amazed that they hadn't left before now. They hadn't needed to stay for five years after the war had ended, even if they had proven invaluable to his siblings in rebuilding Nohr. It was obvious that these three were warriors through and through, after all. He had seen this day coming, it didn't mean he wasn't disappointed that it finally had. "I wish you well in your lives there, then. Wherever home is, they're lucky to have you."  
  
     Selena snorted. "Honestly, I'm kind of scared to go back and see the damage. I don't know how in the realms Chrom and the Shepherds got along without us."  
  
     Corrin blinked, staring at the two of them for a moment, while Odin ducked his head with a small grin as Selena amended her words, saying she wasn't sure how the Shepherds had gotten along without  _her_ since Odin and Laslow had been nothing but nuisances back in the day. That name sounded familiar, in fact, it sounded like a rather memorable encounter he'd once had... Shepherds actually sounded familiar too. "Wait, Chrom?" he asked, leaning over the table. "Blue hair, odd Brand thing on one shoulder that's visible because he only wears one sleeve, has a blonde little sister that's rather like Elise, and has this battle cry that's "Your end has come" but kind of sounds like "Urine has come" if you're not really paying attention the first time you hear it?"  
  
     Odin and Selena exchanged another, surprised look at the barrage of questions, then back at him, and then back at each other, grins breaking out on both of their faces before they dissolved into laughter. "Oh gods, it  _does_  now that I think on it," Selena choked out, bent double over the table.  
  
     "We always knew what it was, though!" Odin howled, slapping the table repeatedly with one hand. "So we never did think about it, Mordecai's  _claws..._ "  
  
     Corrin couldn't help but chuckle a bit himself, looking at the two of them, and just grinned when his shoulder was headbutted gently by Lilith. "You really haven't changed a bit," the little dragon remarked.   
  
     "No, Lilith, I haven't changed a  _lot._ " She just shook her head, and Corrin turned back to the still hysterical retainers, grin growing wider. "I think that answers my question at least. So your homeland is... oh, I can't remember what it was called."  
  
     Odin managed to compose himself before Selena, who was still sobbing with laughter over the table by the time he shook his head, still grinning. "How do you know of the halidom, my liege?" he asked, placing a gentle hand on Selena's back.  
  
     "Well, early in the war... I think it was just after Sakura joined and we were en route to the ferry... yeah, because Tsubaki was the one who talked to me about it afterwards. Anyways, it all started when Felicia came to me, saying she had seen some invisible soldiers go through a strange gateway. There was a forest visible on the other side, the likes of which she'd never seen before. She said it felt... different than anywhere in Touma or even Valla."  
  
     Selena had stopped laughing at this point, and she shrugged Odin's hand off, the sorcerer grinning as he placed it on the table. "Sounds about right so far," she remarked.  
  
     "Anyhow, I figured that the people on the other side might be in danger, so I gathered what troops I had and charged on through. That's when I met Chrom, who asked me if I needed any help since I looked a bit lost. After a bit of discussion, and some improv on my part-"  
  
     "Oh, this should be good."  
  
     "Ahem." Corrin glared somewhat mockingly at Selena's dry tone. "I convinced him that my group was after a bunch of invisible warthogs, and when we ran into those soldiers, we all fought together to defeat them. I remember him saying he was a prince and that he did believe most of what I told him, which was a huge relief in the moment- especially since his lieutenant was the entire reason we were able to win that fight."  
  
     "There's no doubt that's Uncle Chrom," Odin chuckled, the words making Corrin blink.  
  
     "No kidding," Selena scoffed. "Believing a story about invisible warthogs and royalty is an act of stupid trust that ranks right up there with hiring some guy you found on the side of the road to be your tactician and letting him marry your daughter from the future."  
  
     "...What?" Corrin asked blankly, now outright staring at the two of them.  
  
     Selena and Odin exchanged a glance, and then Odin shrugged slightly. "He deserves the basics of that story at the very least. My Lord Leo  _grilled_ me for details when I told him, and I'm certain you told Lady Camilla our origins as well."  
  
     "Hmm..." Selena leaned on the table, resting her chin on her hand as she sent Corrin a sharp grin. "In that case, hold on to your cape, Commander."  
  
\--------------------------------  
  
     "Father, you just earned yourself another phrase that you're never going to live down," Shigure told him, running his hands down his face. Corrin pulled a face at him, and the boy just shook his head. "That aside... what did Selena mean when she was talking about daughters from the future?"  
  
     "All right, so from what they told me, Laslow, Odin and Selena and a number of others were born in a world where a dragon called Grima had overtaken the entire earth and had filled it with his undead minions. They fought for most of their young lives against these minions, until Princess Lucina led them and their friends to the past, far enough back that none of them had been born yet." Shigure listened to this with fascination, noting the slightly grim look in his father's eyes. "They intended to work from the shadows to avert their dark futures, but they were eventually found out by Prince Chrom and his militia that was called the Shepherds."  
  
     "The guy you met," Shigure remembered.  
  
     "Yep," Corrin replied. "Prince Chrom is Princess Lucina's father, and the rest of her people were also children of the rest of the Shepherds. They ended up joining their parents, fighting through several wars, and when it was revealed that Grima had followed them from the future, they were able to defeat him. All of the kids are still serving as Shepherds except for the three that served as my siblings' retainers, from what I've heard."  
  
     "That must be where Laslow's surprise speech came from when you sent the troops back to fight Anankos's invasion." Shigure gave a small, thoughtful nod. "The battle you and the others were fighting was one they'd fought before, and won."  
  
     "Yes, from fighting impossible odds to slaying a malevolent dragon." Corrin gently tousled Shigure's hair with a proud smile. "I knew you'd pick up on that."  
  
     Shigure couldn't help but smile in the face of Corrin's praise. As much as he teased his father, it still felt wonderful when he made him proud. "If Odin called Chrom "uncle," though..." he began.  
  
\--------------------------------  
  
     "Lissa is indeed my mother," Odin rubbed the back of his neck with a small, sheepish smile. "And she most certainly had words about the fell tongue. However, she is nothing but accepting and loving to all, even if she has a tendency to tease. Selena's father is also someone you've crossed paths with."  
  
     " _Frederick's_  your father?" Corrin exclaimed, turning toward Selena. "Well, I suppose that somewhat explains the acidity, and the amazing strength that you have."  
  
     "Hey, my daddy would be the first to tell you that the only tie he has to my strength is the training regimens he put me through when I was young," Selena snapped, and Corrin tried to wrap his head around the concept of the stern man he'd met in another world allowing his daughter to call him "daddy." "I got this strong on my own, thank you very much."  
  
     "I was referring to the training he no doubt put you through, everyone knows that's how people really get strong," Corrin protested, raising his hands defensively.   
  
     Selena huffed, gently hitting Odin's upper arm. "Besides, Lon'qu's  _way_ more acidic than my daddy."  
  
     "Acidic isn't the word for my father- nor Frederick, in my opinion." Odin shook his head. "Father's simply less social and gynophobic while Frederick has to make up for how trusting Uncle Chrom and Mother are."   
  
     "Gynophobic?" Corrin asked.  
  
     "He has to have at least five feet of distance between himself and any woman other than Lissa," Selena explained. "Only reason he can stand being around Lissa is because Chrom asked him to protect her from some assassins."  
  
     "Yeah, that would require someone to get relatively close to the person that they're protecting," Corrin admitted. "Not so close that they get married, though, usually."  
  
     "My mother is the kindest, sweetest, spunkiest, most marvelous woman in the realms, and I do not exaggerate when I say so," Odin responded with a bright smile. "Even my father could not resist her charms when he spent enough time with her."  
  
     "Yeah, literally everyone with any sort of conscience loves Lissa," Selena agreed. "My father-in-law may be stern and unsociable, but he's a good man and he treats both her and Odin right. He might be the only reason Odin can hold his own in battle, daddy's training was nowhere near as harsh as his."  
  
     "Sounds like Frederick doted on you a bit, then."  
  
     "Never anything embarrassing, like he did for Chrom, but yeah," Selena confirmed with a pleased smile. "Daddy was always very clear in his love for me."  
  
     "He doted on  _Chrom,_ too?" Corrin asked.  
  
     "Imagine someone with Lady Camilla's smothering devotion and Jakob's professionalism. That's Sir Frederick where Uncle Chrom is involved," Odin explained.  
  
     "...That is surprisingly accurate." Selena blinked at her husband.  
  
     "Oh my  _gods,_ I can only imagine," Corrin muttered, half amused and half horrified at the thought of the two most doting people in his life combined into one. "Now that I think on it, Frederick  _did_ give me a pebble, saying that he picked them up off of the path so his lord and lady wouldn't stumble."  
  
     "Yep, that's only the tip of the iceberg. My mother's more of the same. She had the biggest unrequited crush on Chrom before she and daddy got together." Selena shook her head. "Lucina was my best friend growing up because the two of them were so fixated on serving Chrom."  
  
     "Only Chrom, though?" Corrin questioned. "He seemed equally protective of Lissa when we met."  
  
     "Ah, likely because Maribelle was absent from the vicinity." Odin nodded. "Mother's best friend was known throughout the army for her volatile temperament, was even given the title "the Tigress" for it. She was fiercely protective of Mother, and would not allow Sir Frederick to embarrass her, or anyone else other than herself. The only people not intimidated by her on some level were Mother, Tharja, Nowi, and Laslow's father."  
  
     "Sounds like a handful herself," Corrin chuckled. "You mention Laslow's father, so what of his parents? It sounds like I haven't met either of them."  
  
     "As I'm near certain he has informed you himself, his mother, Olivia, is a dancer who's treasured across the entire continent," Odin replied, and Corrin nodded- Laslow had said that his mother was a dancer at least, and that he had always wanted to follow in her footsteps. "As for his father-"  
  
     "He's a grinning maniac."  
  
     "And an extremely powerful sorcerer." Odin raised an eyebrow at his wife's interruption. "Most of my approach to the dark arts was gleaned from Henry's example."  
  
     "He's still a grinning maniac," Selena responded to that, seeming completely unrepentant. "Laslow gets his ability to fake his smiles from him."  
  
     "Did he inherit his womanizing from his mother, then?" Corrin asked, keeping the comment in his head about how most sorcerers seemed a bit unhinged to himself- there was one in the room, after all. "Henry doesn't seem like he'd be much interested in that from what you're saying."  
  
     "No, no." Selena grinned. "He inherited how shy he is from his mother, and she told him to go talk to girls when he was little so he could get over that fear of people."  
  
     "Olivia, the one we met in the past, was  _mortified_  that her future self would say that," Odin chuckled, and Corrin couldn't help grinning at that as well. "But it worked. Laslow doesn't blush when he looks everyone in the face nowadays, even if the womanizing got severely out of hand."  
  
     "The Shepherds sound like one giant family." Corrin shook his head slightly, his grin fading to a softer smile. "It's no wonder that you three were so close, though I can't help but wonder how long you two were in love."  
  
     "Oh, we were married before we came here," Selena replied.  
  
     Corrin blinked. "Wait,  _really?_ "  
  
     "Indeed we were." Odin shrugged. "We did not bring up such matters in our conference with King Garon because they were unnecessary, and afterwards we thought it best to keep it a secret to avoid interrogation from Lady Camilla."  
  
     "Because she would insist on meeting the parents and hearing stories about them." Corrin nodded. "It makes sense that you waited to get married until after she was dating Ryoma... though now you've been married twice?"  
  
     "Why yes. It was necessary to not blow our cover," Odin replied, raising his hands in an exaggerated shrug. "Such subterfuge must be taken advantage of when the opportunity for it arises!"  
  
     "You only liked it because you're a dork. Laslow thought the entire thing was hilarious because he's also a dork." Selena sighed. "If things go really sideways, I might have to get divorced twice, can you believe it, Commander?"  
  
     "Selena, love, who else would stumble through fire and go along with Niles's crazy schemes to scrape up enough money to buy you two wedding rings you would deem worthy enough to wear?" Odin questioned, raising an eyebrow and lowering his hands to the table. Selena managed to keep a straight face for a good five seconds before it melted into an amused, blushing grin. Odin grinned toward Corrin. "Laslow's not the only one who is going to find this entire business hilarious."  
  
     "Oh, I have no doubts." Corrin returned the sorcerer's grin. "I honestly can't believe that this is coming up five years after the war. Wouldn't you have wanted to leave Touma earlier?"  
  
     "Well, we would have in all honesty," Selena responded this time. "But when we were summoned here, we were attacked by one of Anankos's henchmen and our safe route out of Touma shattered. We honestly thought that we had no way back home until Odin and Lilith began discussing realms after the war."  
  
     "Wait... outside the tower?" Corrin asked, turning toward where the small dragon was hovering.  
  
     "Well, in all honesty, Odin approached  _me,_ " she admitted. "Due to my knowledge of the astral planes and connection to the Astral Dragon and all. And I can slip between many sorts of those astral planes, Lord Corrin, so meeting up with him at the Dragon's Gate was easier for me than you might think. Together, and with the help of a couple of redhead merchants, we were able to piece the shards of the orb Anankos's remaining good side gave them into a path between Touma and Ylisse. It should make stable travel between the two realms possible for thousands of years...even if it took us three years to create it."  
  
     "So you'll be able to come back?" Corrin asked Odin and Selena after a moment of staring at Lilith. "It sounds like you already have leave from my siblings if you've told them this story." Both of them nodded, and Corrin smiled lightly. "Well then, I hope you'll come back to visit."  
  
     "Oh definitely. Lady Camilla is liable to hunt me down and drag us back if we don't, and we do enjoy your guys's company," Selena assured him.  
  
     "Right. So ah... Anankos's remaining good side?" Corrin's tone was light still, and he wasn't sure why. He just remembered late night conversations with Azura, her talking about the history of Old Valla and how Anankos had possibly written the song that had proven his end, but that was all. "He's the one who summoned you to Touma? Why?"  
  
     Odin and Selena exchanged a glance, seeming to have a silent conversation as soon as their eyes met. It didn't take long for it to end either, and Odin turned back to Corrin, a deadly serious look on his face. "To help you take back your birthright- the throne of Valla- from the maddened beast that he had become."  
  
     "...Why me, though?" Corrin persisted after a moment. "Azura's mother was the queen, not mine. How could he have known that I was supposed to be the one wielding the Yato?"  
  
     "Well, for one thing, he had the same ability to clear away the fog from the future that your mother, Queen Mikoto did," Odin replied. "For another, you were his son."  
  
     The room was dead silent for a moment. " _What?!_ " Corrin cried, eyes darting between the two of them, the shock quickly turning into dread as he took in the deadly serious looks on both of their faces. "No. No, that's not possible, how could that... that  _thing_ even-"  
  
     "He had a human form, which was the remaining sanity within him, and that was what was married to your mother," Selena interrupted.  
  
     "Sumeragi is my father," Corrin snapped. "After all he did for me, and the memories I do have of him, he is the one father figure I will acknowledge, blood or no."  
  
     Selena gently nudged Odin. "Told you he'd react like this."  
  
     "No matter." Odin shook his head. "He is the king of New Valla, not the sheltered child in the Northern Fortress we used to look after. He deserves and is obligated to know his history, whether he denies it or not." He turned back to Corrin, who had flinched somewhat at the mention of his childhood in that fortress where he had known literally nothing about the world. "And so we shall tell you of how we came here and what Anankos explained to us. And you are going to listen because when you have calmed down later on and thought what we have told you thus far over, you will not regret doing so."  
  
     Corrin slowly nodded at that and Odin gave a small smile of approval before it faded. "The Silent Dragon wasn't always mad, as you and Azura already knew," Lilith began softly. "He was once kind, loving, and taught the humans in his kingdom a great many things. But as all immortal beings do, he slowly began to lose his grip on himself..."  
  
     "He knew that this would happen one day, of course, and as soon as the first seeds of madness began to take root, he turned to the human he had placed in charge of his kingdom for aid," Odin continued. "Creating the song and pendant that Lady Azura used during the war to be used when he succumbed to the madness completely." The one that had been thrown away at the end of the war because Anankos was dead and that ancient treasure was a danger to whoever wore it. "There was a long history of him still managing to keep himself under control, even in his self-imposed solitude, with the only people visiting him being the royal family."  
  
     "His mind was deteriorating throughout all of this, though," Selena added. "And a thousand years ago, he finally lost himself to a blind rampage, killing hundreds. This caused the people to call to bury him beneath Castle Gyges... where we found him still buried five years ago."  
  
     "He was a dragon." Lilith drooped in the air, curling around the ball in her front claws as if trying to appear smaller. "The people of Valla had slowly grown away from revering him as their teacher to viewing him as a beast even before the madness began to set in. He knew this, and despite himself, bitterness began to set in. His mental state continued to deteriorate until, fifty years prior to the battle that killed him, he separated his sanity from his body. Without memories and confused, the human traversed the lands of Touma and possibly realms beyond until he met your mother."  
  
     "His memories didn't return until after the main body usurped the kingdom from the royal family in his rage, causing Queen Arete, Queen Mikoto, and both of their children to flee Old Valla." Selena's arms were crossed, and she was staring down at the table. "He helped them to do so, staying behind because it was the best place that he could attempt to control the damage done by his mad dragon half. It was then he had a vision of me, Odin, and Laslow, helping his son and niece to free his kingdom."  
  
     "He came to Ylisstol, crying over the castle wall, " _Please save my kingdom! I will be waiting for you where Mila's roots run deep,_ " before vanishing once again into the night. The desperation in his voice was clear, it is likely that he had been fighting nigh impossible odds. It..." Odin sighed. "Struck a chord within us. We knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he truly needed help."  
  
     "We were getting relatively used to life in Ylisstol, but we are warriors first and foremost." Selena looked up from the table, her red eyes serious as they met Corrin's, whose tense, angry posture had all but vanished as he listened. "And after some deliberation with Lucina and the other Shepherds, we three were sent to help. We were the most restless of the bunch, you see."  
  
     "If Anankos had not called for help, our wanderlust would have sent us off on other journeys," Odin agreed. "So we set out and met him in Valm. He is the one who changed our hair color and hid my brand, due to the off chance that someone from Touma may have seen Ylisse- as you did, my liege."  
  
     "Your brand?" Corrin asked.  
  
     Odin extended his right forearm, and there, between the black mesh near his elbow, was the same red torch-like brand that Corrin had seen just below Chrom's shoulder. "It is a mark of my lineage- just as the dragon blood that runs through you and all of Touma's royalty is."  
  
     "I see..." Corrin nodded quietly. "You said you got attacked?"  
  
     "Twice, actually," Selena replied. "Once in Ylisse, but those Invisible Soldiers were weaker there than they were in Valla. It was only after he took us to Valla that he told us all of this, since even he wasn't immune to the curse his other side placed on the land."  
  
     "He told us we would find his child in Hoshido." Odin crossed his arms, leaning on the table. "Before we were ambushed, of course, and informed that the child had been forcibly taken to Nohr by the henchman. Only one person in Touma matches that description, and so we knew exactly who you were once your situation was made known."  
  
     Lilith gave a small cough, sinking further in the air, so much so that she nearly vanished underneath the table. "Lilith?" Corrin reached out to her, blinking when she flinched away, looking up with him with pain in her pale golden eyes and an expression of distress on her face. "What's the matter?"  
  
     "I...I..." she turned away, still curled far smaller than normal.  
  
     "We agreed that it should be you that would tell him, Lilith," Odin spoke up, tone gentle.  
  
     "He's been kept in the dark long enough." Selena began twirling a strand of her brown hair once again. "We told you that you needed to get this off your chest yourself, remember?"  
  
     Lilith bowed for another moment, and then straightened, floating upward and turning to face him, pain still evident in her wide eyes. "I'm the henchman of King Anankos that attacked them in Old Valla. I killed the last remnant of our father's sanity."  
  
     Corrin stared at her. "You... you're Anankos's..."  
  
     "Daughter and your older half-sister, yes." She turned away again, closing her eyes. "Only my father was the maddened side of Anankos that was still a dragon, which is why my true form is this tiny dragon. I never knew who my mother was, he never told me. He... he never loved me. Even though I was his daughter, though I served him faithfully, he barely acknowledged my existence. I was his faithful pawn. Then  _he_ showed up, brought those three here and sent them to meddle in my father's affairs. My mission was to kill the impostor, so I drew back my hand when he sent them to Nohr... but I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him. He told me to, saying that if he was to die, nothing would make him happier than for it to be while looking at the face of his beloved daughter." She sniffed.  
  
     "Lilith..." Corrin held his hands out to her, and after a moment, she floated over to them. He gently held her, stroking the top of her head with one finger. "But you said you did kill him..." he prompted gently after a moment.   
  
     "I might as well have," she murmured, sniffing again. "King Anankos would not accept me calling the impostor 'father.' He tightened his magic hold on me and began to slowly kill me. The human form took hold of the power and let it hit him, saving my life. He told me he loved me once again... and the last thing he said was your name. He was sorry he couldn't protect us, so I... I knew I had to do it. Even if my power was drastically reduced when I came to you and you looked after me instead of the other way around."  
  
     "This is how she knew where to find the prison camps where Anankos held the survivors of Old Valla," Selena added quietly. "And why she hides herself away when they're around."  
  
     "I've always wondered how you knew that," Corrin whispered. "And you did look after me, Lilith. You've always been by my side."  
  
     "You've always been far too forgiving." She shook her head, uncurling in his hands, golden eyes narrowed. "I was still loyal to him, you understand? I could have given you so much information regarding him that I kept away."  
  
     "But you're telling me now, and we won the war even without that information," he responded without hesitation. "So we're both loyal to our families to a fault, then. Unable to betray a single member, no matter how much they may hurt us. You've made mistakes, so has everyone, and you have reasons." Tears pricked at his own eyes then, and he brought her to his chest. "I am  _proud_ to call you my sister, and to thank you so much for all that you've done. I only wish you'd told me sooner..."  
  
     A flash of brilliant light filled the room, and suddenly his hands were on her back- her human back. She looked up at him with tears in her own eyes that were partially hidden by her pale blue bangs. "I shouldn't..."  
  
     He smiled tremulously. "You see? Here's your proof that you've been a good sister. What more do you need?"  
  
     She stared up at him for a moment, then returned his smile with a tremulous one of her own, and then buried her face in his chest as they embraced each other tightly. Corrin felt something give in that moment, another odd warmth surrounding them, a pair of arms that were oddly familiar and strange at the same time. A peace filling him, sending a message clearer than words, and he smiled into the bonnet on Lilith's head.  _And thank you too, old man_.   
  
    He looked up at the sound of chairs scraping to see Odin and Selena both smiling at the two of them, the expressions genuine happiness. "It's always good to see a family get back together," Selena muttered, turning away with a small blush across her nose. "Laslow would be bawling about as badly as you two are right now."  
  
     "And there went the atmosphere," Odin murmured wryly, casually brushing the area under his eyes.  
  
     "Where  _is_ Laslow, anyways?" Corrin asked, letting go of Lilith.  
  
     She frowned slightly. "I was wondering the same thing. He should really be here for this."  
  
     "Alas, the fiery passion of his love that was as beautiful as blooming flowers has morphed into a chain of which he cannot escape," Odin sighed, pressing a hand to his chest. "If he were not unavoidably detained, he would most certainly be with us."  
  
     "He's in jail for causing some property damage," Selena translated without having to be prompted, a slow smirk spreading across her face. "Which is, of course, only natural when your girlfriend winds up meeting your wife."  
  
     "Ooohooo." Corrin shook his head with a sharp inhale and grimace. "I don't envy Xander for having to disentangle that one." Then the last part of her sentence really sank in, and he blinked before surging forward, slamming both hands down on the table in shock. "Wait,  _WHAT?!_ "  
  
\---------------------------------------  
  
     "Wait,  _WHAT?!_ " Shigure cried, standing bolt upright, and Corrin grinned when he caught Lilith mouthing "like father, like son," behind him.  
  
     "That there is another story, but ah..." He looked toward the window. "As you know, Shigure, the party to celebrate the birth of Kana and Kamui is tonight, and since you still need to be bathed and dressed for that, it will have to wait."  
  
     Shigure stared at him, mouth agape for a moment, before he crossed his arms, cheeks puffing out into a pout. Corrin arched an eyebrow at this, standing up himself and jabbing his thumb toward the door, making it perfectly clear that he wasn't backing down on this. After a full minute of silent staring, Shigure gave a small sigh, looking down. "Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm getting that story at or before bedtime."  
  
     Corrin grinned. "Now that there is a perfectly reasonable demand. Shall we be off then?"  
  
     "Yeah." Shigure raised a finger "But I want to play with  _Auntie_  Lilith again soon."  
  
     Lilith started slightly, and then gave a radiant smile, kneeling down next to the boy and pulling him into a hug, which he earnestly returned. "Of course little one," she told him softly. "You know that you're welcome in my tower at any time." She let him go. "Now you have fun at that party. I'll be hovering in the rafters again."  
  
     "Okay." He beamed up at her, and followed his father out as she stood and gave them a small wave which Corrin returned with a grin just before the door closed.


End file.
